ESPN.com - JoePa: Etching his place among coaching's greats

ESPN.com: College Football

Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Updated: August 16, 5:37 PM ET
JoePa: Etching his place among coaching's greats

By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com

For a little more than a year now, Joe Paterno has spent much of his time deflecting questions about breaking Bear Bryant's record for career victories.

The routine he's got down. With a straight face, he tells you that win No. 324 won't be much different than Nos. 323 or 325. He goes on about how his genes are the reason he's lasted this long. He reminds you that Eddie Robinson won 405 games at

I-AA Grambling State. And he tells you that his comparisons to Knute Rockne, Pop Warner, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Bryant himself are laughable.

This is no act. Nor is it a case of overblown humility. Instead, it's the genuine thoughts of a blue-collar Brooklynite with a grounded outlook on life and an insatiable desire for success.

"Honestly, it's kind of embarrassing to even be compared to Bryant or any of these guys," Paterno said. "I don't want to sound more humble than I am because I'm not humble. But I don't put myself in a league with those people. I don't belong."

The numbers beg to differ. Paterno, entering his 36th year as Nittany Lions head coach, owns a 322-90-3 career record. His winning percentage of .780 is fourth-best among active coaches. He's won more bowl games (20) than any other coach. Two years ago, he passed Stagg (314) and, last year, Warner (323), in career victories. Two more wins and he'll pass Bryant and stand alone as perhaps the greatest Division I-A coach.

At least for now. Florida State's Bobby Bowden sits just seven victories behind Paterno and his teams have won at least 10 games a record 14 straight seasons.

"You talk about Bryant and Rockne, even Robinson. I don't care what level you're coaching, what those guys did was unbelievable, so it's nice to hear the comparisons," Paterno said. "But I don't really agree."

In Paterno's eyes, there's more to coaching than just the numbers. There's the aura you have when you walk in a room. There's the confidence you feel when the opposition can't stop you. And there's the pleasure you take in seeing a recruit enter college as a boy and leave it a man.

They were all traits that Paterno said he believes Bryant possessed more than anyone.

"I think every coach has their time. But when Bryant was on the sidelines, he was probably years way ahead of everybody else, especially defensively," Paterno said. "And he was one of those guys who could always be colorful without even trying to be.


	Will this be the week for JoePa?

"I remember when we played in them in the first Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. We're out on the field for pregame warm-ups, I had a jacket and tie on and he had a cardigan sweater and a tie, but no hat. So I said, 'Coach, where's your trademark hat? And he goes, 'My mother told me never wear your hat inside the house.' "

A little more than a year ago, Paterno stood six victories shy of Bryant and, as a testament to JoePa's lifelong success, most figured a 7-5 season and win No. 324 was a sure thing.

Paterno cautioned against such confidence, saying last August, "We might be lucky to win seven games." He was right. Penn State finished 5-7 and the champagne was put on hold until this season.

Throughout the team's struggles, talk of the record never came up. It still hasn't.

"We never really talk about it because he never talks about it," Nittany Lions quarterback Matt Senneca said. "Naturally, it's in the back of our minds and I would think in the back of his mind, but that's not an upfront thing for us. I don't remember him ever saying one thing about it."

Last year's team was plagued by injury, had difficulty adjusting to a new defensive coordinator, and had it mettle tests twice, when quarterback Rashard Casey faced a felony charge of assaulting a police officer and later when a spinal injury to felled cornerback Adam Taliaferro. Thoughout, Paterno, the man who takes little credit when his team wins, shouldered all the blame when his team lost.

"It was tough. I don't think I did a very good job last year," Paterno said. "Under all of the distractions, I got caught up on a very difficult personal year. It was not a fun job for me."

	“	You think Joe Paterno, you think football coach right away. But it's the things he's done off the field, putting money in the library, working on a spiritual center. It's things like that that show what he's mean to the community. And that can't be sufficiently honored. ”
		— Nittany Lions quarterback Matt Senneca

Yet he never considered giving up. Paterno has four years remaining on his contract and hinted recently that he might sign a two-year contract extension on top of that. When a reporter recently asked Paterno about the idea of retiring, the coach joked back, "The only retirement I've thought about is yours. And I can't wait."

Penn State has not had back-to-back losing seasons since 1931 and 1932 and Paterno is committed to prolonging that streak. In 1988, Paterno's only other losing season, the Nittany Lions went 5-6. The next year, they were 8-3-1.

"Even though we really don't talk about the record, I believe he wants to do it," linebacker Shamar Finney said. "He's still a great coach. And he deserves to shatter the mark to a point where no one else can touch it."

When he finally decides it's time to retire, Paterno will leave Penn State with the daunting task of honoring a man who has dedicated 52 years of his life to improving the university.

"I really don't know if there is something you can do to truly honor him in the way he deserves," Senneca said. "You think Joe Paterno, you think football coach right away. But it's the things he's done off the field, putting money in the library, working on a spiritual center. It's things like that that show what he's mean to the community. And that can't be sufficiently honored."

In Tuscaloosa, Ala., a large museum honors the illustrious career and larger-than-life persona of Bryant. When asked if a similar structure should someday be put in Happy Valley, Paterno reverted to his honest, no-nonsense self.

"Put the money in the library," he said. "Where it can do some good."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.